Main » United Nations calls for 'urgent global action' to end violence in Afrin

United Nations calls for 'urgent global action' to end violence in Afrin

11 February 2018

"The situation in Idlib Governorate remains extremely volatile with high levels of hostilities between government [regime] of Syria forces and non-state armed groups being reported", the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report on Wednesday.

The report also said 11 Turkish soldiers were killed along with 11 other fighters, the highest death toll on any single day among the Turkish allied forces since the beginning of Operation Olive Branch.

Mattis was referring to Turkey's plan to launch a military operation in Manbij, a strategically important city west of the Euphrates in northern Syria, as part of Operation Olive Branch.

Separately, the Turkish military said on Friday the construction of a fifth military post near Syria's northwestern region of Idlib had begun.

Syrian state media confirmed dozens were killed, but appeared to deny the forces were soldiers, describing them as "popular forces". Syrian human rights groups have accused the PYD of committing war crimes in the area over the past three years.

One chopper belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces was "shot down" during Turkey's Operation Olive Branch, Erdoğan said on February 10, speaking in Istanbul.

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said it was "not realistic" to impose a ceasefire because armed groups fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces were unlikely to uphold it. Yet in Iraq, the United States abandoned the Kurds when they voted for Kurdistan's independence and faced a crackdown by Baghdad.

Russian Federation imposed a block on Turkish flights over northern Syria last week after one of its jets...

Since 2012, UOSSM has been providing emergency medical relief and healthcare services to the Syrian people affected by the crisis, working primarily inside Syria and with Syrian refugees in Turkey.

Because the PKK has come close to taking control of northern Syria, Ankara has now made a decision to abandon its strategic alliance with the US.

But U.S. forces are not in Afrin, so have been unable to shield Afrin from the attack by Turkey , its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ally.

Ankara launched a military campaign in neighbouring Syria in a bid to oust ISIL from the border region.

Al Hussein said the prevailing climate of impunity and the paralysis of the U.N.Security Council, divided between allies and foes of the Syrian government, calls for the Syrian conflict to be referred to the International Criminal Court, and a more concerted effort by the parties involved to bring about peace.

The US will thus seek to reassure Turkey that it will stand up against Kurdish secession or expansion in Syria and any future attempts by the PYD to cooperate with the PKK.